Roja made him Raja
A.R. Rahman is a man of few words. But, discovers DEEPA GANESH, he has a
desperate need to
connect with people
The Hindu
DOWN-TO-EARTH A.R. Rahman: `Film is a very powerful medium and I believe that a
lot of people
should share it'
If you've been to Tirupathi, you'll know the scene. You waited and waited with
bated breath,
and finally when your turn came, all you got was a fleeting glimpse of the
deity. You went with
a hundred things in mind, but instead you had to contend with those surly god's
own men
snapping, "Jaragandi, jaragandi... " ("Move on, move on... "). You came away
with a hole in
your heart.
Despite the markedly different audience (plush environs of a star hotel),
waiting for A.R.
Rahman in a long queue of eager-beaver journos, aspiring singers, hopeful
producers and
directors, friends and fans was something like a Tirupathi moment. "Each of
you get five
minutes," came a voice, which carried with it an air of overwhelming generosity.
What does one ask in five minutes to someone who redefined Indian film music
and the world's
perception of it? That too to a man who has such a huge body of work to his
credit and seems so
frightfully reticent? But the mild-mannered Rahman allayed all apprehensions
and graciously
said even after my five minutes were up: "Go on." In fact, he even offered me a
second chance
a precious 10 minutes!
A trailblazer
Rahman is truly amazing for the manner in which he stormed into the Indian film
music scene
even before establishing his regional credentials. With his debut film Roja in
1991, he became
a national phenomenon, bagging the Rajkamal for it. Rahman acknowledged that it
was all part of
a conscious design. "I wasn't too happy with the I-don't-want-to-listen-it
attitude of our
youngsters towards film music. Why can't we get our guys to listen to our own
music rather than
Michael Jackson? I didn't want us to lose the market out to the West. The music
had to be cool,
it had to be rooted, and yet had to branch out. It was like the wild
imagination of a child...
but it worked... It did travel beyond Chennai and had people," explained the
gifted composer.
And having a studio of his own has helped him in a big way. He has had the
freedom of working
on his tunes day and night, for days, months and years (he worked almost for a
year on the
Rangeela song and worked for a good six months on Roja's "Tamizha Tamizha"),
until he was fully
satisfied with it. " I have rubbed many a producer on the wrong way by
disturbing the schedule,
but it has paid off."
In the case of his blockbuster album Vande Mataram too, he was fully aware of
what he was
doing. If it changed the image of India from a peace-loving country to a
nuclear powerhouse, it
was intended. Rahman and his friend Bharat Bala conceived it as a flag-waving,
jingoistic
declaration, a mantra of every kid in the country. "It had to be unlike the one
that has been
played on the radio for years, a muffled kind of a sound. I wanted a sound that
would connect
me with people and capture a collective energy."
But going by Rahman's style, which has a visual texture to it, his version of
"Vande Mataram"
doesn't capture the celebration of Indian landscape in Bankim Chandra's poem.
"It wasn't
intended that way," came the concise reply. With Vande Mataram, Rahman, who
gave Indian music a
global feel, also re-asserted himself as a gizmo freak. (In fact, he is said to
spend most of
his money on acquiring new electronic gadgets.) Not that he has made only
foot-tapping numbers;
he did classical pieces such as "Kanna mucchi yenada" in Natakuranji for
Kandukondein
Kandukondein and he did sweeping melodies like "Uyire" for Bombay along with
songs like
"Rukkumani" and "Mukkala Muqabala". "Somehow, people just put all my melodies
on the backburner
and remembered me for only rhythm-driven songs. But things have changed since
Lagaan. They have
woken up to the other aspects in me." Rahman remembered how on his way to
Gulbarga from
Hyderabad, he was playing a soft song and the car driver threatened to fall
asleep if he didn't
play a fast one. But during one of his trips to Germany, an admirer came up to
him to say how
much he liked the songs in Zubeidaa, a film that failed at the box-office. "I
take all
criticisms objectively, though I believe in elevating the tastes of the
listener," he
maintained.
Back to roots
Nevertheless, to the layman, Rahman has always been someone with a strong
Western orientation,
unlike Ilaiyaraja who with all his veneration for baroque music, has strong
oriental roots. The
manner in which Ilaiyaraja rendered Tyagaraja's krithi "Tulasidala" in a
western idiom and his
current orchestral symphony Thiruvasagam stands testimony. Rahman too is
working on a project
called Conference of the Words, a book based on a Sufi tale of self-discovery.
This will be
turned into an orchestra and will be premiered in Birmingham. And like his true
self, "I'm
going to take a very long time on this."
Despite confessions such as "I feel abnormal when I talk", Rahman loves to
connect to people,
of course in a different medium. Talk of the Airtel ad, tell him it was
quintessential Rahman
with a good balance of melody and rhythm, and he will tell you that after a
two-year stay at
London for the Broadway production Bombay Dreams (he accepts that it got "bad
reviews"), "there
was this desperate need to reconnect. And that's why I agreed to star in it as
myself too."
Rahman has broken several moulds in his career spanning 15 years. He tried to
break away from
the predictable, unthinking perfection of film music in using raw, untamed
voices and also
bringing in an element of dissonance, even while he rendered film music hot and
happening. But
over the years, with every new composer wanting to be a Rahman, he has become a
cliché. "I
think it is very important for a composer to have his own identity, which is
becoming less and
less. I only hope things will change," said the unpretentious genius.
Right now, Rahman is working on Shekar Kapur's film Buddha. That he is making
music for this
film is apt in more than one sense. He is, after all, a deeply spiritual man
whose calm face,
like that of the Buddha's, never sees a frown. Also, industry folklore has it
that the composer
is up and working when the world sleeps!
* * *
India Classic Arts, a New Jersey-based organisation, dedicated to the
advancement of Indian
Arts and Culture, is bringing A.R. Rahman for the 3D Live concert on October 8
at the Palace
Grounds. Top singers are expected to participate in this huge musical event.
Moreover, Bangalore will be the only Indian city included in the composer's
world tour that
includes London, Sydney, Melbourne, Colombo and Toronto.
The proceeds will go to Namma Mane, a charitable project. For details, contact
Ravi Rajagopal
or Roopa Iyer on 98456-57432.
"We neglect our cities at our peril. For, in neglecting them, we neglect the
nation."
-John F. Kennedy
This August, Discover the Birth of Your Independence
and The Magic of A.R.Rahman's Music in
Mangal Pandey - The Rising
http://www.risingthefilm.com
http://www.mangalpandeythefilm.com
Music released: Jul 14, 2005 Movie releases: Aug 12, 2005
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